


Under Most Circumstances

by Musetotheworld



Series: Tumblr Prompt Fills [14]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Happy Ending, No character death repeat no character death, Pre Relationship, tw guns, tw gunshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-28 00:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10059329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musetotheworld/pseuds/Musetotheworld
Summary: Kara really hates losing her powers.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Could you write Cat taking a bullet for Kara, but with happy ending, please!

Kara really, really hated blowing out her powers.

So many times growing up she’d half wished she didn’t have them, that she could just be human and normal the way everyone around her was. For a young teenager still adapting to a completely different planet and culture, the addition of super everything only made life harder. Even if she’d been able to use her powers instead of hiding, they were another adjustment that she often resented.

It might have been easier, if she’d had reason and ability to be a hero like her cousin. If she could save those in need without jeopardizing her secrets and the safety of her family. Then at least her powers would have a positive side. Instead, they’re a burden and a weight, one heavy enough to register even with super strength.

And then she’d come out as Supergirl, and suddenly those powers mattered. They were still a burden, still a responsibility, but this time they were a duty she assumed herself. They didn’t feel restricting, they felt empowering. She could use them to change the world, to help others see that they could change it too. And that made the secrecy worth it.

And that made the times she lost them far worse.

It wasn’t that she hated feeling human, not exactly. After years spent wishing she could be ‘just Kara’ there was a certain relief that came from being average, at least after the first time when she learned that she could and would get them back. Even if she still felt guilty for losing them, for leaving her city for a few days, after the first few times learning to adapt to the difference it became almost a vacation. She could take a few days as Kara to get her human life sorted out without being pulled away for super responsibilities every few hours.

So no, being human wasn’t all that bad, not under most circumstances. But this isn’t most circumstances.

So used to relying on her hearing to warn of incoming danger, Kara hadn’t noticed the gunmen approaching the CatCo benefit until it was too late, until guns were drawn and orders being barked. And when she did, well, she froze.

There wasn’t another word for it. From the first shouts of ‘everyone on the ground’ she should have complied, should have dropped with the employees around her. None of them were important enough to be a danger or a target, if they just listened to whatever they were told there shouldn’t be a reason to fear. The gunmen were likely after something in one of the offices, or the safe, and if no one provoked them then there was no reason for anyone to get hurt.

Except Kara froze.

She froze, staring at them in horror as the truth of the situation registered. She was powerless, and what would ordinarily be a challenge only in regards to keeping bullets from ricocheting off of her and into her coworkers was very definitely something else entirely now.

She doesn’t notice the tensing trigger finger until it’s too late, and Kara opens her mouth in shock as she realizes what’s about to happen. She’s going to be shot, and it’s going to hurt, maybe even kill her. All because she doesn’t have her powers.

And then a weight is slamming into her, and she’s falling to the ground, but it doesn’t hurt. Why doesn’t it hurt? Bullets are supposed to hurt, there’s supposed to be pain and blood and heat. That’s what she’s always heard, what she’s heard every DEO agent who takes a hit say. But this is just a dull ache.

When she hits the ground, the sharpness of the impact jars her eyes open from where they’d closed in the face of the looming pain, and now it’s her mind that’s freezing.

Because Cat shouldn’t have been here. Cat was in London, or was it Paris? Suddenly Kara can’t remember, can’t focus enough to think. Because Cat, frail soft  _ human _ Cat, is laying half on top of her. Is laying on top of her, and bleeding across her legs.

She thinks there are screams echoing across the room, but for once her hearing seems distant and unconnected from what she’s experiencing. It’s too overwhelming to deal with, so her mind shuts out everything but Cat. She’s desperate to move, desperate to do something,  _ anything _ .

Instead she’s lying still, staring at Cat in shock, watching as her shirt slowly stains with red. Of all things it’s wondering if the dry cleaner can get blood out of it that tips her out of her thoughts and back into reality. Suddenly the screams are immediate, pushing against her ears and nearly deafening her. All her control is gone, and it takes long moments for the realization to sink in.

Her powers are back.

In seconds she’s changed into her suit and taken out the gunmen, knocking them out with only a little more force than is necessary. It’s not intentional, but Kara can’t bring herself to regret it, not when she needs to save Cat.

Ignoring all reason and knowledge that she’s going to have some very upset agents on her case, she flies to the DEO rather than a local hospital. The DEO medics are better equipped to deal with a gunshot wound than even the best hospitals, and Kara is not about to risk Cat’s life with anything but the very best care there is to offer.

Once Cat is safely in the hands of the medics, Kara spends the next few hours being lectured by Alex and J’onn in turn. She keeps tuning them out to listen in on the progress of the surgery, so they keep coming back to try again. Finally Alex gives in and just holds her, obviously realizing that any arguments will have no effect on Kara’s decision or feelings about the matter.

They sit in silence, other than when J’onn is lecturing, until Kara hears the surgeons wheeling Cat into recovery. As soon as she knows they have her set up Kara is standing and speeding towards the room. She isn’t going anywhere but Cat’s side until she knows the woman will be okay.

Thankfully the medics are familiar with Kara’s tendency to worry from the few times Alex has been injured, and don’t say a word as Kara enters the room. She has to deal with a few knowing looks, but they’re the least of her worries right now.

“She’ll be okay, Supergirl,” one of the doctors says, a man she hasn’t had much cause to interact with before. “It wasn’t bad as far as gunshot wounds go. Didn’t hit anything serious, she’ll be back on her feet in no time.”

Kara can only manage a smile in thanks, not quite ready to speak just yet, but he seems to understand. And it’s refreshing to have someone give her facts about the situation without adding accusations of recklessness or disregard for the safety of the organization. She knows J’onn means well, but after hearing the same thing for the third time Kara had been just about ready to shout the truth about the DEO’s existence from the top of CatCo.

It doesn’t take as long as Kara had expected for Cat to wake up from the anaesthesia, and as soon as she stirs Kara is at her side with a cup of ice chips. She’ll probably end up giving away her identity within the first five minutes of this conversation, another reason J’onn and Alex had been so upset, but Kara doesn’t care. Cat had taken a bullet for her, obviously it was well past time to be honest with her. She deserved more. And Kara knows she had for a long time.

“I see you got your powers back,” Cat says once she’s managed to eat a few of the chips, soothing her throat and reviving her somewhat. “I’m glad. National City needs their hero.”

“What, what do you mean?” Kara asks, sure she'd misheard. She’d been ready to confess everything, but she hadn’t expected Cat to do it for her.

“Please, Kara. You’re feeding me ice chips because I have a hole in my stomach, I think the time for secrecy is over, don’t you?”

“Well, yes,” Kara says, stumbling over her thoughts and words for a second as she readjusts yet again. “I was going to tell you.”

“You know I hate being second at anything,” Cat teases, and Kara feels herself relax just a hair. If Cat is feeling good enough for banter then she really must be okay. Even if Kara knows it’s probably thanks to the various drugs the DEO has given her for the pain.

“If you knew, why did you push me out of the way?” Kara asks as she realizes what Cat’s knowledge means.

“You’d blown out your powers,” Cat says with a shrug. “It was clear from the footage after the last fight with that rock alien, and the fact you didn’t react when they came in told me you hadn’t gotten them back yet. And I couldn’t let National City lose its hero.”

Kara wants to shake her, wants to shout and scream and throw a fit over the fact that this amazing woman had somehow decided she wasn’t every bit the hero of the city that Kara was. That she wasn’t more than Kara. Supergirl was an alien with superpowers, yes. She showed the world a way to be, to act, to save. But she was still alien.

Cat though, Cat is human. She has her flaws, and the media hasn’t always been kind in detailing them. But she’s still a hero. When Kara first blew out her powers, Cat had been there. When Kara had been under the influence of Red Kryptonite, Cat had been there. When Kara had seriously considered a plan of action that would kill hundreds of thousands of people,  _ Cat had been there. _

“National City can’t lose you either, Cat,” Kara says, voice quiet with the pain of the very thought. “You’re more their hero than I am.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree, Supergirl,” Cat says, eyes closing for a moment. “I’m too exhausted to argue with you properly.”

“I should go, let you rest,” Kara says as she backs towards the door.

“No, stay.” It’s soft, spoken with eyes still closed, but Kara can see the nervous tension in Cat’s frame, even with the drugs. For whatever reason, Cat is afraid to ask for this favor.

“I won’t go anywhere,” Kara promises as she crosses back to Cat’s side, pulling a chair with her and settling in. She only hesitates for a moment before reaching out to take one of Cat’s hands in her own, wary of crossing a line. But there’d been a promise in her words that goes beyond this moment, one she thinks they both feel, and this contact seems right.

There’ll be more to discuss later, they’ll both probably run from whatever this is at some point, but right now feeling the warmth of Cat’s hand in her own is enough. The continued proof that she’s still here, that everything will be okay, that’s all Kara needs right now.

And if there’s more to come? They can deal with that when it does.


End file.
